Helios Solar Operations and Maintenance
UK leading rooftop solar PV testing, inspection and maintenance, Ampthill, BedfordshireI was only looking at the data more closely when I found it right in front of me: position of Riso fault found. That would have taken me ages to locate physically. Same thing for many other strings. The data backed up what I had seen on the roofs and allowed me to make an accurate recommendation for remedial works to my client. I was then the only company able to identify, from ground level, exactly where faults were occurring on a 700 kWp system, and Helios were awarded the contract.
From sceptical to convinced: how Riso fault location won a 700 kWp contract
Robert Harley initially purchased the emazys Z200 on the recommendation of James Hoare, one of the UK’s most senior PV technical experts. His first field experience was not immediately convincing: testing took around 90 seconds per string compared to 20 seconds with a conventional Seaward instrument, and his PV electrician was unimpressed with the pace.
That changed when Robert examined the data more carefully. The Z200 had pinpointed the exact position of an Riso fault on the string, something that would have taken significant time to locate physically using conventional equipment. The same pattern repeated across multiple strings on the same site.
Shortly afterwards, Robert was called to inspect a 700 kWp system displaying all the hallmarks of DC connector failure, installed in 2015 during the pre-Feed-in-Tariff digression period when many systems were installed rapidly by inexperienced contractors. Because the Z200 allowed him to identify fault locations from ground level, Helios were able to offer a substantially lower cost of fault resolution than competitors. They won the contract.
What the emazys instrument enabled Helios to do
- Secure additional business by offering ground-level fault location that competitors could not provide
- Provide clients with confidence through accurate, data-backed remedial recommendations
- Improve awareness of fault types and locations across rooftop PV portfolios
- Significantly reduce the time taken to locate faults in the field
- Obtain a higher level of diagnostic data per site visit
- Discuss with insurers a new approach to PV fault finding and fire risk assessment